“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly…”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Do you have days when you feel uninspired? I do, even though I usually have projects going that really inspire me. Still, there are days when none of my ongoing projects inspire me. I don’t feel the energy to take action on any of them. Those days I just feel tired, and a little cranky, even if I slept well the night before. The cranky comes from an inner assumption that I must be doing something wrong to feel like this, and I’d better fix it. Only I’ve discovered that I don’t need fixing, I need acceptance and a change in perspective.

The other day I wanted to create a post for the blog. I wasn’t feeling sparked about anything. I was feeling tired. So, with no inspiring thoughts to guide me I went back over past journal writings I keep for this purpose. I discovered a story I wrote and found it to be a good fit for the blog.

Before I knew it, I was immersed in rereading the story, adding a little description here and there, creating the post format on the website, finding the right quote and the right picture to go with it. I was in the flow.

It all came so gracefully and unexpectedly when I hadn’t been feeling the spark at all. I’d uncovered a little pocket of joy.

Later that day, though I knew I should be weeding and mulching out in the yard, I just didn’t feel like all that effort. Instead, I drifted into the kitchen and tried out a dessert recipe that I’d been hanging onto for a while. It turned out well. That buoyed me up and I decided to check on-line for other recipes to try. There, I stumbled upon a gluten-free bread baking book. Feeling a little spark, I downloaded it.

There’s a discovery here – little pockets of joy happen, even when we don’t otherwise feel inspired, if you follow your energy.

It’s easy to feel joyful when we’re feeling really inspired about something. That joy spills over into everything. The energy is flowing strongly and it feels great. Yet, even in times when the energy is not flowing strongly, the joy still happens. It’s just quieter, and we’re less apt to be conscious of it, though that is when we most need to be aware of joy happening.

I didn’t think I was inspired that day. I just thought I was tired. Instead, I found my inspiration in places I didn’t expect it, in old journal writings, in a recipe I had been holding onto and never tried, in a new cookbook. I found it and didn’t recognize it for what it was, because I thought I should be feeling inspired about working in the yard. 

Instead, I just did what I had the energy to do.

The discovery is that there is joy happening all the time. It may be quieter, less obvious on the down side, but it is there.

Instead of focusing attention on trying to fix ourselves during these times, we could focus attention on where the quiet enjoyment is.

Maybe it’s a new recipe, an inspiring movie, a book. Perhaps it’s sitting quietly and sipping a cup of tea. The thing is, it’s there. It may just look a little different than we expect.

It requires the self-acceptance not to beat ourselves up because we think we should be doing something else, even as our hearts are guiding us to the quieter inspirations. It requires a change in perspective to see the rainbow.

And the surprise is, it’s not about what we’re actually doing, not really.

It’s about following the changing flow of creative energy from within. It floods sometimes and it trickles other times, but it’s always there.

I thought it wasn’t there that day. I was wrong. I was looking for the flood. Instead I needed to listen for the trickle.

The inspiration is there, even on the days when it feels like it’s not. Your inner self will guide you if you give yourself permission to listen, and look for the rainbow.  

 “When you free up the stuck energy in your home, you dramatically change the feeling of stuckness in your life, and new opportunities can come your way.”
 – Karen Kingston

For the past week, I’ve been in what my husband calls a cleaning frenzy. I call it Spring cleaning in January. The crazy thing is, I’ve been following my bliss. It all started in meditation last week.

In that meditation I saw myself clearing off a dirty dish-filled kitchen counter by sweeping my hand across and knocking everything off. I felt fine about doing it this way, seeing the dirty dishes as energy dissolving into the air. Along with this visual I felt the energetic benefit that I would experience from decluttering and cleaning my home.

Cleaning is sacred, spiritual practice. As we clear and clean away the ego debris of daily living, we raise the vibration in our homes and our inner being, freeing up energy, aligning ourselves and making space for God in our lives.

After that meditation, I walked around the house and realized how heavy it felt. I could feel the clutter and accumulation weighing me down energetically and emotionally.  It made me tired just thinking about all the cleaning and decluttering I had put off. That's when I realized that I had been feeling tired for days.

I thought back to how, in the evening, I want my kitchen cleared of dirty dishes before I go to bed. It is rare that I leave the dishes unwashed. When I get up the next morning, ready to start the day fresh, and walk out to see the kitchen filled with the debris of yesterday’s living, it feels like the plug is pulled on my energy. It drains right out of me as I look at the clutter and work to be done that should have been done the day before.

“Your home is the outer expression of your inner environment.”
- Shoshana Ortalia Aurora Rogers
 
The same is true of other areas in the house in need of clearing and cleaning. All these areas are the outer reflections of stuck energy in our lives. Places where the energy that should support our daily living is dammed up, stagnating and unable to flow. 

Several days ago, Peter and I received a wonderful gift from our daughter and son-in-law. In beautiful synchronicity, they had our car professionally deep cleaned and polished, inside and out. It really needed it because our much loved and fed grandchildren had been riding and snacking in it for many months. Driving the car home from the car wash I reveled in the clean look, the clean smell, the shine inside and out. Our car sparkled!

Arriving home that evening, I began dinner preparations and thought no more about the car. A short time later I realized that I felt really cheerful, upbeat and energized, noticeably more than usual. Driving in that sparkling, clean car had lifted my energy significantly.

I hadn’t realized how much driving around in our usual clutter and dirt was affecting my attitude and my energy.  

How much more does living in the accumulated clutter and dirt of daily living affect us in our homes?

“The stagnant energy that accumulates around clutter causes you to feel tired, but when you start clearing it, this frees up stuck energy in your home and also energizes you.”
 – Karen Kingston

Over the next few days, feeling inspired by that experience with our clean car, I went into cleaning mode. It felt great. I scheduled carpet cleaners to deep clean all our carpets.  I deep cleaned our bathroom, reorganizing and decluttering as I went, as well as our floors. In preparation for the arrival of the carpet cleaners, Peter and I moved everything off the carpets, shifting large amounts of stagnant energy as we did so.

The house feels different now, lighter. It feels like springtime, when the windows are thrown open and warm and fragrant breezes waft through the house, this despite the fact that it is January and the outside temp is in the single digits. The energy has lifted and most significantly for me, my energy right along with it. I experience this emotionally as happiness, physically as increased energy, and spiritually as renewed creative inspiration. I can feel my energy opening up and expanding outward.

Perhaps you too have been experiencing the winter doldrums, feeling tired and low on energy. If so, move stuff around in your home, rearrange, organize something, clean something out. You’ll be amazed at how starting small can lead to big results energetically and emotionally. Check out today’s Spiritual Toolbox for some ideas to get you started.

“Hansel took his little sister by the hand. They followed the pebbles that glistened there like newly minted coins, showing them the way.”
-Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
 
What is your Path of Power?

Your Path of Power is like that trail of shining pebbles from the story of Hansel and Gretel, laid out for you by your Higher Self and guiding you home. Each pebble shines with joy, excitement and bliss.

You choose your Path of Power each time you choose the activity that aligns you with your Higher Self, and through your Higher Self to Universal energy. Alignment with your Higher Self is your direct link to that source of power which is Universal energy.

Your Higher Self gives you clear indication of what activities guide you along on your path and which activities do not.  

Here’s what that looks like.

When you have the choice between two possible activities, pay attention to how you feel about them. The feelings may be physical or emotional. Our Higher Selves communicate through our bodies and subconscious with bodily sensations and emotions in response to activity choices.

If your Higher Self is telling you that the activity will deplete your energy and take you off your Path of Power, you may feel a constricting sensation in your solar plexus. This might be combined with an emotion of feeling let down or disappointed.

If your Higher Self is telling you that the activity will energize you, you may feel an expansive, opening sensation in your heart area, and positive, uplifting emotions.

It is as if you and your Higher Self have your own secret code for communicating. As you pay attention you will become attuned to how your Higher Self communicates with you.

Imagine choosing your daily activities based on what most appeals to you! That is how your Higher Self guides you on your Path of Power.

It is a testament to the love of God that our Paths of Power are those which most attract us, those which are our dream and feel the best. You will find that these are the activities with which you choose to spend your spare time, even if you feel you cannot pursue them as your career or job.
Your Path of Power draws you like a magnet.

Choosing to follow your Path of Power is solely your own responsibility.

No one can tell you to do it. It must come from within. No one can give you permission to pursue your path. The permission must come from within.

Seeking your Path of Power is not a selfish seeking. It is Self-centered Soul seeking. Additionally, in the pursuit of your path you are reenergized and have that much more to offer to others as well as to yourself.

As you follow your path on a daily basis you will find your world opening up as you have more energy for yourself and more to offer to others. What may have felt like a selfish pursuit is actually for the benefit of all. Others will benefit from your energy flow and be energized by you.

You can choose to follow your Path of Power, one bright, shining pebble at a time, and create more and more of the bliss and energy of alignment in your life.

“It’s the excitement in the simple things that tells you what simple things are actually connected to the bigger things that excite you. And will actually get you there in what may seem to be a round-about manner, but by following the excitement is actually the shortest, fastest, straightest path.”
-Bashar, channeled by Darryl Anka

You can choose to feel good even when you are doing something that might normally feel onerous. It’s a matter of what you are paying attention to and how you are focusing your attention.

Recently, inspired by an upcoming get together here at the house, I’ve been doing an hour of puttering each day which has resulted in the house getting cleaned.

Despite the fact that cleaning is one of my least favorite things to do, I have enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed the process and I’ve enjoyed the results. I’ve even woken up each morning and looked forward to my hour of puttering each day.

What? Looked forward to cleaning? How does that work?

I’ve found there is a big emotional difference between the idea of puttering and the idea of cleaning. It is a change of perception and therefore attitude.

When I’m “cleaning,” (cue air quotes and frowny face) I have a specific job in mind that I feel I have to get done. It might be vacuuming the downstairs. It might be washing the windows. Whatever it is, it is something that has been bothering me. I’ve resisted doing it and now I want to get through it and get it done so I can move on to whatever it is I really want to be doing that day.

My thought process is generally negative, “Look at that dirty floor! I’ve let it go too long. I’ve got to vacuum today.  I might as well just get it over with.” It feels punitive and I get it done as fast as possible.  

On the other hand, when I’m “puttering” (cue happy, smiley face), I give myself an hour to putter. I invest myself fully during that hour, mentally and emotionally. I don’t allow myself to think about what comes later in the day. I am fully present with whatever I am doing.

This week, the focus of my puttering has been cleaning the public areas of our home, because we’ll be entertaining this weekend. That’s the only focus I’ve had. I’ve drifted from vacuuming, to washing the counters, to hanging a picture, to washing windows, to cleaning cabinet doors, to touch up painting.

Surprisingly, I’ve done more than I would normally do for getting ready for a party, just because it was enjoyable.

The cleaning has happened organically, one activity flowing into the next, and my feelings about it are very different from my usual feelings about cleaning. I’ve enjoyed the process and I’m enjoying the results.  

During that week, when I had the time and energy, I added onto the hour and tackled another area. In this case the garage. I loaded up a car-full of cardboard boxes for recycling. Mind you, these boxes have been stacking up in the garage since winter.

I drove to the recycling dumpsters in town and spent a surprisingly satisfying quarter-hour unloading cardboard and breaking down boxes. The dumpsters were located at the back of the parking lot of our local community center, bordered by woods. The temperature was perfect. A lovely breeze cooled my face as I worked. Every so often I stopped to listen to bird song and appreciate the fact that I was there completing a job I’d been intending to do for months.

You might well ask, “What is the matter with this woman that she is blissing out at the dumpsters?”

Given a job to do, wouldn’t you rather enjoy the process rather than have to force yourself through it?

What’s the difference? The difference is in slowing down, focusing on the process more than the product.

My thought process goes like this, “I’m going to invest this hour doing whatever catches my attention and needs doing. When I’m done with that, I’ll do the next thing that catches my attention.” There is no rushing to get it all done. There’s time to take a deep breath, look out the window and listen to the birds sing as I work. I’ll often put on flowing music which adds to my sense of relaxation and flow. At the end of the hour I am done for that day if I choose.

I generally get a lot more done than when I assign myself specific jobs that I feel I have to get through.

So, what’s the take away here?

Bashar talks about bliss as a sense of excitement. I believe that bliss looks like any number of positive, life-affirming emotions. Bliss is a combination of happiness, contentment, attraction, excitement, satisfaction, well-being and more.

Bliss may be what you experience as you reach the summit of a mountain after an exhausting climb. Bliss may be what you feel as you hold your sleeping grandchild. Bliss may be what you feel as you pursue your avocation or vocation. Bliss may even be what you feel as you flatten cardboard boxes with the breeze on your face and bird song in your ear.
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Bliss comes in small packages as well as large, life-purpose size packages.
We can, through our choice of attitude, choose bliss, even in the small things.  

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
-Wayne Dyer
 
 
Bliss is one of those feelings, like ecstasy and transcendence, that feel miraculous and unapproachable except by a select few. What does following your bliss look like in everyday, regular old life? Is it a miracle? Maybe, and maybe it’s just a change in how you look at things.
 
For each one bliss looks different, but the foundation is that of perceiving with the eyes of love. To give you an idea of what love flowing on a regular day might look like, here’s an entry from my  journal of several years ago.
 
“It is a glorious, sun-filled morning. The weather is unseasonably warm. I have been following the energy for several days rather than my usual, routine work schedule. Because of that, the windows are put away and the screens are up on the front porch, the dead plants are cleared off the back porch and several plants sit outside here with me, enjoying the early spring sunshine. As I follow the energy, jobs get done before I need to have them done. This must be something the same as squirrels instinctively wanting to collect acorns and seeds in August that they later need over the winter. All part of how the creative energy flows so beneficially for all. It gives me a feeling of being watched over, cared for and loved.
 
I have an increased awareness of the beauty and joy with which I am surrounded. A robin singing her cheery good morning outside my bedroom window. Her evening song lilting and lovely through the deepening dusk of day's end. The sparkling brook flowing through the dark green and rust of the pine woods in back of our home. Perhaps I am simply allowing myself more time for these things by not sticking to a prearranged job schedule. Perhaps I am more relaxed, better able to appreciate. What a gift!”
 
Wouldn’t it be nice to feel like this every day? I’d like to. I don’t always, but that’s what our spiritual tools are for, because we each of us has a choice to change how we look at things today. We can choose to see through the eyes of love. 

​Image by geralt on Pixabay 

“Approach life as an art form, creating each day rather than just surviving it. The key to being able to do this and do it on a continuing basis is inspiration.”
​-Unknown
 
Do you fill your life inside and out with what inspires you?

Do you inspire yourself in your thoughts, allowing yourself to travel new, exciting pathways, thoughts you haven’t had before?

What kind of thoughts inspire you?

When you are relaxing do you choose activities that inspire you?

When you watch TV or a movie, read a book or a magazine, do you choose those that uplift you, inspire new thoughts, leave you laughing, create cathartic emotions, inspire creativity?

When you read or listen to social media, do you focus on those postings that inspire you, leave you feeling positive? Do you inspire others with your postings?

And here’s a new one for me. I just cleaned out all the catalogs and old magazines out of the basket in my bathroom and replaced them with magazines and books that I find inspiring. Now, rather than entertaining my brain with fluff while I am otherwise occupied, I’ll be inspiring myself with new thoughts and ideas.

Do you inspire yourself with your surroundings? Look around those places where you spend most of your time. Do they lift your energy and inspire you?
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What is it about your surroundings that inspires you?

Think about places that you have been that lifted your energy and gave you an expansive feeling inside. What is it about those places that you loved?

For me, beauty, order, light, simplicity, healthy plants, and a feeling of peace and sacredness in my surroundings all inspire me.

Then there are the less tangible things that inspire me, the laughter and play of happy grandchildren, the peacefully sleeping cherubic faces of my grandchildren, with their pink cheeks and long curling eyelashes, the laughter of my husband as he chuckles over some story he is enjoying, a community of spiritually minded women gathering together to share and support with love, the delighted play of my dog with her ball as she races back and forth playing catch, the smell of fresh, morning air, a gentle breeze on my cheek, the sound and feel of strong winds approaching through the tree tops and swirling through the yard, sunlight dappling through the leaves, flocks of birds moving as one in the sky, the unexpected sight of a deer grazing in the back yard. All these things inspire and fill me.

What inspires you?

Photo by Nick Owuor on Unsplash